


Spring Again

by Florence_in_Silver



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Dragons, F/M, Fix It, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluffy, Gen, Happy Ending, Naath, The Unsullied, Total Fluff, Wedding, because last episode was really rough, so have some happy endings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-02-27 11:38:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18738250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Florence_in_Silver/pseuds/Florence_in_Silver
Summary: Giving Missandei and Grey Worm the happy ending they damn well deserve.Missandei manages to escape from Cersei and makes it home to Naath with Grey Worm and the Unsullied. There, she reflects on her life and helps her people to rebuild.Daenarys comes to visit, Drogon has a surprise, and Missandei gets a soft epilogue.





	Spring Again

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for 8x04.

Missandei watched as the kaleidoscope of butterflies flitted about the white flowering bushes, sipping up the nectar with their long tongues. Most of them were orange and black, but there were others in the mix as well: huge ones with blue iridescent wings, little purple skippers, and vibrant yellow ones with no other markings. She remembered her grandmother taking her to see them when she was just a little girl. Her grandmother had held Missandei’s tiny hand in her own wrinkled one and pointed at the butterflies with thick arthritic fingers. Missandei had then run forward, into the swarm and had one of the orange ones land right on her forehead.

“The Lord of Harmony is sending you a message, little one,” her grandmother had said.

“What message?”

“Only you can answer that.”

Young Missandei had thought about it for a second, and then gotten distracted by an enormous swallowtail.

Her grandmother was long dead, of course, as were her parents. She had brothers, somewhere, but they had be taken away as slaves in the same raid that she had been. They could be dead. Or they could have been some of the many thousands that Daenerys freed. Missandei hoped so. She hoped they would make their way home some day, as she had.

The people of Naath had been a little skeptical of her return, when she had sailed back to the island with an army of the most highly feared soldiers in the world. They were not a warlike people - quite the opposite. Other than fish, they didn’t even eat animals. But they had been raided and captured, their homes burned down, and their people slaughtered for so long, that they quickly adjusted and even welcomed the Unsullied. If the Lord of Harmony wanted to send them such protectors, they would allow it.

“What do you think?” asked Missandei.

Grey Worm sat next to her on the beach, watching the butterflies in his usual stoic manner. He nodded.

“They are nice,” he said.

She laughed at him and he smiled. He smiled more now than he used to.

“This is my favorite place in the entire world. I think, now that I have seen so much of the world, I never want to leave this island again.”

She looked out at the water of the Summer Seas, splendidly blue in the afternoon light.

“It is my favorite place, too,” said Grey Worm.

She shifted closer to him and he put his arm around her shoulder.

“We almost didn’t make it back here,” she said.

Grey Worm watched her for a moment and then kissed her on the forehead.

“Almost.”

They heard giggling from behind them and looked back to see a group of Naathi children watching them and whispering behind their hands. They were dripping wet and had obviously just come from swimming in the sea. One, the tallest of them, came a little closer and held out something to Grey Worm. He held his palm open and she dropped a shiny white ball into it. Then, looking bashful, the girl ran back to the others and they all took off across the beach, scattering the butterflies as they ran.

“What is this?” he asked.

“A pearl,” said Missandei. “It’s a traditional engagement gift.”

“So I am married to that child now?” Grey Worm raised his eyebrows.

“No, no.” Missandei laughed and then got quiet. “I think, maybe, she wanted…”

“That I give it to you.” He held the pearl between his two fingers.

Missandei nodded.

“For you, Missandei of Naath, I give you everything that I have. My love. My protection. My support. And this pearl.” He held it to her and she took it, rolling it over her fingers.

“For you, Grey Worm, I give you everything, as well. My love. My protection. My support. And if you ever need a translator…”

He laughed then, a nice rumbling sound, and leaned forward to kiss her. She brought her hands up to his face and pulled him closer. Together they fell back in the sand, but they didn’t break apart for many long minutes.

“We should probably get married officially, though. By a priestess,” Missandei said, breathing a little heavily.

Grey Worm nodded, and looked around as though he could spot a priestess on the beach and just get to it.

“I want to wait until Dany gets back, though. I want her to be here for it,” said Missandei.

“I would like that, too.” Grey Worm kissed the back of her hand.

***

After the sun had set on the beach, Missandei and Grey Worm walked back to the village, with the pearl still clutched in Missandei’s hand. Years ago the Naathi people had moved inland up into the mountains, to escape the slave traders, but with the Unsullied to protect them, they were able to rebuild along the coastlines. The village was simple, just small wood and clay huts, but they would build more impressive structures with time. For now they were focusing on growing the fruit and vegetable gardens and building new boats for the fishermen.

There were two Unsullied guards, named Red Mouse and Hero, standing outside the largest of the huts. It was a wide, low structure, with a hole cut into the roof so that the smoke could escape. Fires were rarely necessary in the Summer Islands, but in this case they needed one.

Missandei nodded to the Unsullied who stepped aside to let her and Grey Worm pass through the narrow doorway. Inside sat an old Naathi woman, tending to the fire and sweating a little in the heat.

“Alright, Kotandei? Do you need a break?” Missandei asked her in Naathi.

“No, no. I’m alright. I like keeping an eye on them,” she said.

She grabbed a fire poker and shifted the logs a little to make them more stable.

Missandei stepped closer to the fire and looked in. Nestled amongst the burning embers lay two scaly eggs, each about the size of a person’s head. One was a brilliant green, as Rhaegal had been, though with a slight hint of blue, and the other was shiny black, as if it had been carved from obsidian.

“What are their names again?” Grey Worm asked.

“The blue is Joran. The black is Rhaellax,” said Missandei.

She watched the fire crackle around them, and then thanked the old fire tender and left the hut with Grey Worm.

They went back to their own hut, which was much smaller and simpler, but suited all their needs. When the rainy season came, they would need something with a stronger roof, but for now, it was perfect. Missandei left the door open and stretched out on the blankets, and Grey Worm sat by the door, looking at the village.

Missandei sat up and rummaged through their trunk of belongings for a moment until she found a needle and some thread. Carefully she poked a small hole through the pearl and hung it on the thread around her neck. It was simpler than the necklaces she had been given by Daenerys, but she liked it more than anything she had ever worn. Grey Worm alternated between watching her work and watching the Naathi return to their huts for the night. Outside, they could hear a mother calling to her two children to come inside. Grey Worm smiled, though there was something a little melancholy about the expression.

“That’s something I can’t give you,” he said.

Missandei didn’t have to ask what he meant. She crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

“You would be a good mother.” He didn’t look at her.

“I still can be. The slave trade has created many children in need of parents. I don’t care if they aren’t ours by blood. They could still be ours. Is that...something you would want?”

Grey Worm leaned back against her.

“I don’t know how to be a father. But yes. I want.” He nodded.

She kissed his cheek.

***

They heard Drogon’s roar before they saw him, and the sound made all of them, Naathi and Unsullied alike come running out to the beach, squinting up at the sky as they did so. It started as just a black speck against the blue. And then slowly the speck grew and the wings, head, and long tail became visible. Drogon swooped down, looking for a clear spot on the beach and landed, with Daenerys on his back. The great dragon was quickly mobbed by a group of children, who climbed over his tail and sides and up onto his back with Dany, who patted him and reminded him to be calm. Drogon let out a puff of air and lay down in the sand for Dany to climb off.

Missandei ran up and threw her arms around her friend. On the back of Drogon, it was easy to forget how small the queen truly was, but even Missandei towered over her.

“How are you, my friend?” asked Dany, smiling so big that her eyes crinkled up.

“I’ve missed you,” said Missandei.

“Is everything alright on Naath?”

“Peaceful, as it should be.”

“I’m glad.”

Daenerys then turned to hug Grey Worm. He still wasn’t entirely used to hugging, but he accepted it gracefully.

“How is your kingdom, my queen?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“I have no kingdom.”

“You have many, I think,” said Grey Worm.

Missandei reached up and stroked Dany’s face for a moment. On this bright beach, surrounded by her people, her love, and her dearest friend, it was easy to forget all the pain it had taken to get here.

After conquering Slaver’s Bay, they had sailed to Westeros. They had been so confident then. They had an enormous fleet of ship, the largest Dothraki khalasar ever assembled, the army of Unsullied, and not to mention three fully grown dragons. How could they lose?

But Westeros was a harsh place, in some ways far harsher than Essos, and it had broken them. It had brought down two of the great dragons, reduced the Dothraki army to almost nothing, decimated the Unsullied, taken Ser Jorah’s life and nearly Missandei’s own. And after all the hardship and suffering, the people of Westeros didn’t want them. They didn’t want foreign people in their homes and a foreign queen on their throne. It mattered little to them that Dany was a Targaryen. In their eyes, she had grown up in the savage lands of Essos, and so she was a savage, as well.

It mattered little now. They had helped save Westeros from the army of the dead and now it was up to Westeros who to put on the iron throne. Missandei didn’t much care anymore if it was Jon Snow or Sansa Stark or Tyrion Lannister. She was just happy to be home, and happy to have Grey Worm and Daenerys with her.

Daenerys had once thought herself destined to rule Westeros, and that goal had sustained her through countless hardships. But after Viserion died, and then Jorah, and then Rhaegal, and then Cersei captured Missandei, something had collapsed inside Dany. Missandei wondered what would have happened if Cersei had killed her. She imagined Dany would have burned down all of King’s Landing and all the people with it.

But that hadn’t happened. Cersei had many enemies in and around King’s Landing, including the Dornish bastard daughter of Oberyn Martell and a sailor from the Summer Islands. The last of the Sand Snakes, a woman named Sarella Sand, had freed Missandei and brought her back to Daenerys. There was a part of Dany that had still wanted to burn Cersei and her entire city down, but another part that had listened to Missandei. Drogon alone couldn’t defeat Cersei’s army, and Dany couldn’t bear to lose him as she had lost his brothers. And then the eggs had been laid, and that had changed everything.

They left Westeros, then. They left Cersei to deal with her assassins, Euron Greyjoy to get beheaded by his niece, and the surviving lords and ladies to fight over who would lead them.

Because as it turned out, Daenerys Stormborn, breaker of chains and mother of dragons, indeed had a destiny, but it was not to sit on an uncomfortable metal chair. It was to sit on the back of Drogon. She had dragons to raise, tyrants to kill, and slaves to free all across Essos. Missandei thought she was better suited to that than to being a true queen. Here, Dany could be the queen of all and of none at the same time.

“This is pretty,” said Dany, noticing Missandei’s new necklace.

“We wanted to wait for you,” said Missandei, taking Dany by the arm and leading her to the village as she told her about the wedding.

Grey Worm followed after them, blushing a little as Missandei went into detail about their engagement night.

***

The eggs hatched that night, as if they had been waiting for Dany and Drogon’s return. They were so small, smaller than Missandei had ever seen a dragon. They stretched their tiny wings, which were useless, delicate things for now. They couldn’t fly or breath fire yet, and they nestled like babies into Dany’s arms as she carried them out to show Drogon.

Next to their mother, the hatchlings looked comically small. But Missandei herself had watched Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion grow from the size of a dog to the size of a house. These little ones would grow up soon enough.

“Maybe you’ll ride one someday,” said Dany with a grin, as she scratched Rhaellax under her chin.

Missandei’s eyes widened.

“I think not,” she said.

“No? Grey Worm?” Dany turned to him.

“Watching you ride is exciting enough,” he said.

Drogon bent down over them, sniffing and puffing smoke over his new children. Dragons weren't particularly maternal, but he looked proud of them.

***

The next morning, Missandei and Grey Worm were married.

The ceremony took place on the beach and the whole village came out to attend. The priestess bound their hands together with cord and had them repeat the Naathi marriage oaths. Grey Worm stumbled over the pronunciation a little, but he was concentrating so hard on getting it right that Missandei almost burst out laughing in the middle of it all. She felt giddy with joy.

Once the oaths were said, the people of the village came up and began to adorn them both with necklaces and crowns of flowers. The Unsullied cheered and stomped their spears in the sand like drum beats. Daenerys came up to them, holding Rhaellax in one arm, and gave them both flowers and a kiss on the cheek. Missandei saw a Naathi girl carrying Joran, the same girl who had given Grey Worm the pearl. She was holding the little blue dragon as if he were made of glass and if she dropped him he’d break, but she looked pleased to have the honor of holding him.

“To the happy couple!” cried the priestess.

“To Missandei and Grey Worm!” called the crowd.

People began to pass around a skin of sweet wine, while others began to play instruments. The Unsullied set down their spears and took off their helmets, and found themselves pulled into a dance by the Naathi. Missandei leaned into Grey Worm and laughed with him. The Unsullied were graceful on the battlefield, but they were far from the world’s finest dancers. Still, they looked happy enough.

Missandei beamed, and pulled her new husband close to her. She was about to kiss him when she felt a light tickle on her arm. She looked down to see an orange butterfly crawling up her skin. It looked just like the one that had landed on her forehead all those years ago. Perhaps it was even a descendant of that one. It paused for a moment, flicking its proboscis over her, and then flew away. Missandei turned back to Grey Worm and he took her face gently and kissed her. She smiled.

They had almost died, him fighting the Night King’s army, her captured by a madwoman. But then they hadn’t. Somehow after years of slavery and fighting and losing friends, somehow they had made it home.

Winter had come, and then it had gone. Now it was time for spring again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I needed to write something happy after watching that episode. It came together pretty fast, but hopefully it's still fun and coherent.  
> It might be a touch out of character for Dany, but who cares. It's fluff fanfiction.  
> Also, Sarella Sand is a character from the books. The Sand Snakes in general are really different and awesome in the books. Maybe someday I'll go back and write the fic of Sarella breaking Missandei out of Cersei's dungeon...


End file.
